- Date
- September 30, 2015, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Kemmerer, WY
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4244LMaule M 7-235C
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 5, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA Denver FSDO
- Case key
- 92096
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
A hard landing which resulted in a loss directional control and ground loop.
Findings · 5
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that the landing was "hard and the plane bounced, I tried to get it under control, but the next time it came down it also hit hard." He reported that he tried to execute a go-around but the airplane for a third time, "came down again and ground looped." The airplane departed the runway to the left, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing impacted terrain. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot also stated, "I should have had more training in this airplane, and I should not have landed at an airport with such a high density altitude." The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the landing was "hard and the plane bounced, I tried to get it under control, but the next time it came down it also hit hard." He reported that he tried to execute a go-around but the airplane for a third time, "came down again and ground looped." The airplane departed the runway to the left, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing impacted terrain. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot also stated, "I should have had more training in this airplane, and I should not have landed at an airport with such a high density altitude." The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4244L
- Reported as
- Maule M 7-235C (235C)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25079C
- Built
- 2002
- Airframe hours
- 444.2
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-W1A5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Gary D. Raser
- Registered owner
- Gary D. Raser
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 12, 2015
- Departed
- 6K5 · Sisters, OR
- Destination
- EMM · Kemmerer, WY
- Airport
- EMM · Kemmerer Municipal Airport, runway 16, 8,203 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Stall warning system
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 19, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 607 total · 14 in this make and model · 500 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.28 inHg
- Observed at
- KEMM
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 29, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 MB in all.